Our Lady of the Cape: the statue that opened its eyes (1888)

The parish of Cap-de-la-Madeleine sits on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, in what is now Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Its old stone church was built between 1717 and 1720. In 1854 a parishioner, Zéphirin Dorval, donated a plaster statue of the Virgin. It followed the Miraculous Medal design, from the vision of Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830. Arms held out. Standing on a half-globe. Crushing the serpent. Eyes cast down.

The winter of 1879 was mild, and the river would not freeze. Stone for a new church could not be hauled across. The parish priest, Luc Désilets, promised to dedicate the old church to Mary if a way appeared. On Friday 14 March 1879, an ice jam formed. Father Louis-Eugène Duguay and parishioners worked two days and nights pouring water to thicken it. The narrow ice path held for about a week. Duguay called it "quite extraordinary, a true miracle."

The new church opened in 1880. On 22 June 1888, Désilets kept his promise. The old church was rededicated as the Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, and the statue was moved to a place above the altar. Around 7 in the evening, three men came to pray. Désilets. Father Frédéric Janssoone, the Franciscan who had led the dedication. And Pierre Lacroix, a layman from Trois-Rivières who walked supported by the two priests.

They went to the communion table. Lacroix prayed, then raised his eyes to the statue. "Immediately, I saw that her eyes were wide open; in an absolutely lively way, as if she was looking over our heads towards Trois-Rivières."

Désilets rose and asked Father Frédéric whether he saw the same thing. The answer came. "Yes, the statue has opened its eyes, hasn't it?"

Father Frédéric later described it closely. The gaze was fixed, straight ahead. The eyes were black, well formed, in full harmony with the face. "The Virgin's gaze was that of a living person; it had an expression of severity, mixed with sadness." The face was in full light. The sun was shining through a window.

The witnesses raised the question of illusion themselves. The two priests moved about the church, viewing the statue from different spots. Lacroix stayed at the communion rail. The eyes stayed open for about five to ten minutes. The three men are said to have sworn to what they saw, on a parchment kept at the shrine.

Désilets died suddenly on 30 August 1888, about ten weeks later. He had told the story many times, with emotion, to Duguay. Father Frédéric gave his account to La Presse, published 22 May 1897, and became the event's main narrator. Word spread. Pilgrimages increased. Reports of cures began in 1892.

No formal Church ruling on the event has been found, and no one has accused the three men of invention. Sceptics point to similar cases, such as the moving statue of Ballinspittle in Ireland in 1985, where investigators blamed long staring in changing light. Expectation on an emotional evening may also play a part. Father Frédéric thought an illusion unlikely. The face, he said, was bathed in sunlight.

The statue was crowned in 1904, by a coronation granted by Pope Pius X, and again in 1954 by Cardinal Valerio Valeri. Pope John Paul II visited in 1984. Frédéric Janssoone was beatified on 25 September 1988, the centenary year. Today the site holds Canada's national Marian shrine, and 22 June is kept as the Feast of Our Lady of Hope.